Patsy Collins is one of the two runners-up in our recent Happy Ever After? short story competition. Here’s her story…

Is It Time Yet?

Come and cuddle me again. Please, oh please. You squeezed me yesterday, when nobody was looking. You held me gently when you felt how soft I am. You guessed, didn’t you? Realised that bear you’d gazed at in the shop window when Granny took you to town was no longer sat behind the glass.

Is it time to open the presents yet? Surely it must be soon? The decorations have been up for ages and ages. I heard your grown-ups debating where each garland should go. The gifts wait under the tree with the lights making my shiny wrapping keep changing colour.

Open me now, please. Oh go on, per-er-lease. Just me, the rest can wait a bit. You could just have a look, see what I am. There’s no need to take me right out the wrapping, you could just look in. Well you could take me out. You could play with me. You know I’ll be fun.

I’ve been ever so good, really I have and I asked Santa for a nice boy like you to be my owner. I’ll be the bestest teddy a boy could have. We’ll go exploring together, you can be a famous mountaineer and take me climbing really high. When you’re a great detective I’ll help you hunt for clues. When you’re a secret agent, I’ll be your lookout. When you score the winning goal, I’ll present the cup.

Patsy Collins writes anywhere she can reach in her campervan. She’s the author of five novels; four contemporary romances and one coming of age story with a difference. Hundreds of her short stories have been published in women’s magazines. Find out more – https://patsycollins.uk or follow her on twitter @PatsyCollins Her short story collection, Not A Drop To Drink, is free to download. getBook.at/NotADropToDrink